On a night when the Saints' defense played more than well enough to win, Brees threw five interceptions in a 23-13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Brees' streak of 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass is over. His team's playoff hopes might have gone with it.

Falcons 23, Saints 13

Check out the best photos from Week 13's matchup between the
Saints and
Falcons.

Focusing on the Saints' possible path misses the larger point. New Orleans just lost in back-to-back weeks to playoff teams by 10 points each. The Saints rallied from their 0-4 start, but they're no longer a "hot" or "dangerous" team. They are a squad that hasn't been able to put it all together in its biggest games this season. The Saints aren't peaking heading into December.

Brees' meltdown was disarming. It included a bad throw, a late throw, some bad luck, but mostly bad decisions. Brees butchered a clock-management situation at the end of the first half. He took a delay-of-game penalty and burned a silly timeout. He was off.

There were brilliant moments, but too much sloppiness from Brees and his teammates. They built too big of a hole, and they just couldn't climb out.